Food

<h1><strong>Story behind the Babka</strong></h1>
<h2><strong><em>From a covid side-gig to small business! </em></strong></h2>
<p>My name is Alex and I started The Babka Shop during Covid-19. Like many of you, I was at home baking up a storm, and realized that LA was missing the babka scene that NY has. So I went on a mission to bake the perfect babka. One that would cure our quarantine sorrows and make us smile. I tested about 6 different recipes until I formulated the perfect one—buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, babka with a sweet crumble topping (my favorite part). </p>

<p>What some people may not realize, is that babka is a lot more tedious to make them your average challah. The dough needs to proof several times and the longer you let the flavors marry, the better it is. It is a 2-day process and it is worth the wait! </p>

<h1><strong>How to make babka </strong></h1>

<p>Day 1: Make your dough! After mixing together your ingredients, the dough proofs for 2 hours. Then it chills in the fridge overnight. On day 1, I will also make the filling and crumble topping.</p>
<p>Day 2: Make your babka! Roll out the dough, spread filling, cut in half, twist, and then proof for 1 hour before baking. </p>

<p>*When I first started over the Jewish holidays, I had so many orders that I had to wake up at 4:00am to bake all the babkas (since it is so time consuming). </p>

<h1><strong>To learn more about The Babka Shop, check us out on Instagram! </strong></h1>

<p>DM us to place your babka order :)</p>

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@Alex's mag on Magma

Travel

<h1>Cape Town, South Africa</h1>
<p><strong><em>One of the prettiest cities in the world...</em></strong></p>
<p>Everybody needs to visit Cape Town at some point in their life! I kept saying to Adam the entire time: it is like the Tel Aviv of Africa. The food is amazing, everything is very affordable (Rand to $ is 14:1), everywhere you look is beautiful, and there is so much to do there. We stayed with Adam’s grandma in Sea Point (the Santa Monica of Cape Town). </p>
<p><strong>Swipe to see some highlights of the trip.</strong></p>

<h1>Camps Bay</h1>
<h2>The Beverly Hills of CPT</h2>
<p>Gorgeous real estate, white sand beaches, Bungalow-esque bars and chic restaurants, Camps Bay is where you go to do Cape Town in style. </p>

<p>We went to a rooftop bar called Chinchilla on NYE and it was really fun. There is also a fun club called Cafe Caprice. </p>

<h1>Clifton Beach</h1>
<h2>The best <strong>beach</strong> in CPT</h2>
<p>Clifton 4th Beach is where you go if you want to go chill on the beach. It’s really nice because it’s clean, the sand is SO SOFT, and there people are walking around selling cold drinks and ice cream. Only downside is that the water is literally ICE COLD (since you’re so close to Antarctica). The homes on the beach are just as nice, if not nicer, than Malibu. It’s a beautiful site to see and you can also see Lion’s Head from the beach. </p>

<p>P.S. Get a granadilla lolly.... IYKYK</p>

<h1>Lion’s Head</h1>
<h2>The hardest hike <strong>you’ll</strong> ever do</h2>
<p>2 hours to get to the top! And you have to take chains/ladders at the very top. But worth it for the views! </p>

<h1>Boulders Beach</h1>
<h2>Penguins!!!</h2>
<p>So crazy to see penguins, in the wild, chillin’ on the beach. The beach is about an hour away from Cape Town. </p>

<h1>Muizenberg Beach</h1>
<p>Old colorful changing rooms, the softest sand, and WARM WATER! What’s crazy about Muizenberg is that the water is crazy warm because it comes from the Indian Ocean, unlike Cape Town beaches which are the Atlantic Ocean and the water is basically shared with Antarctica. This beach is only an hour away, but because of its warm water temperature, it is known for having sharks 😬</p>

<h1>Table Mountain</h1>
<h2>The Top of Cape Town</h2>
<p>We waited 2 hours to go up in the cable car, but it was so worth it! On one side, you have a crazy view of Lion’s Head, CBD and the Cape Town stadium, and on the other side you can see all of Camps Bay and Clifton. </p>

<h1>Stellenbosch</h1>
<h2>South Africa’s wine country</h2>
<p>The Napa of South Africa, Stellenbosch and Frranschoek have hundreds of beautiful wineries to visit. We went to the Delaire Graff Estate, Babylonstoren, and Spice Route. </p>

<h1>Oranjezicht City Farm Market @ V&amp;A Waterfront</h1>
<h2>Every foodie’s dream</h2>
<p>This is by far the BEST food market I have ever experienced in my life. There are tons of food stations to try: shakshuka, avocado toast, oysters, chocolate, pastries, bread, samosas... ANYTHING you are hungry for, they have. And the best biltong ever! </p>

<p>They also have a retail section with artisan products, plants, flowers, and home goods.</p>

Cape Town — @undefined's mag on Magma

<h1>Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe</h1>
<p>After 30 hours of traveling (no joke), Adam and I made it to Victoria Falls. As tired as we were, we rallied and did a tour of the falls, which was absolutely INSANE. It is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and now we know why... it is breathtaking beyond measure! Felt like we were in Tarzan LOL!</p>

<h1>Our Hotel</h1>
<h2>Shongwe Lookout</h2>
<p>We stayed at the CUTEST bed &amp; breakfast style lodge in Victoria Falls. It’s less than a year old so it felt very clean and the staff was amazing. There is a big watch tower that you can climb up and we watched the sunrise one morning at 5:30am.</p>

<h1>Chobe National Park, Botswana</h1>
<h2>Safari time!</h2>
<p>We took a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. It is a 1.5 hour drive from Victoria Falls and you have to cross a national border. </p>
<p>Our morning consisted of a river cruise where we saw hippo, crocodiles, buffalo, antelope, impala, vultures, and more! In the afternoon, we went on a game drive through the park and saw elephants, antelope, impala and monkeys. Didn’t get to see any lions or giraffes... we were really bummed because it had poured the day before so it made all of them migrate. Guess we will have to do another safari soon!</p>

Alex Rosenberg